


Writ On My Wrist (Is Your Name)

by Insane_but_smart



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blue goes by Sans for the first half of the first chapter, Blue is not actually called Blue, He has a different name, M/M, Rivalry, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, uh oh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26091292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insane_but_smart/pseuds/Insane_but_smart
Summary: Sans doesn't believe in soulmates.After all, his doesn't exist.Nightmare doesn't deserve a soulmate.He doesn't need one, anyways (no matter how much he longs for one regardless).
Relationships: Nightmare/Blue - Relationship, nightberry
Comments: 107
Kudos: 161





	1. Disrupted

**Author's Note:**

> :)

Sans had never known his soulmate.

Nobody in the entire Underground bore their name.

The name writ in seemingly rushed but somehow soft and gentle script across his left arm.

The one that had, suddenly, inexplicably, changed from a gentle lavender to a bright and toxic green one day, and the handwriting, too had changed, to a gentle and loopy cursive. And he didn’t know why.

And it worried him.

‘Nightmare’.

He wondered who would name a kid that. It seemed mean.

He thought it was a pretty name nonetheless.

  
  


Nightmare had never even stopped to  _ consider _ the fact that he might have a soulmate. And anyways… 

He didn’t need one. He didn’t  _ deserve  _ one.

He didn’t even have a real soul.

He didn’t have a soulmate, and he had come to terms with that painful realization a long time ago.

After all, who would love him? It would be unrequited, to say the least.

...nobody in their right mind  _ could  _ love someone like him, surely.

  
  


Sans had been trying to find his soulmate for  _ years _ to no avail.

He-

He was losing hope, honestly.

He just pretended he didn’t have one.

It was simpler, that way.

He just pretended to be happy when his friends found their soulmate.

He pretended not to hurt on the inside, but he did.

Sans slowly grew colder, a little more snappish- the idea of soulmates brought up disgust in him- it was fake, really. His soulmate didn’t exist, not anywhere in this universe.

He spent most of his time alone.

After all, everyone else was much happier without him.

Sans had just been minding his own business.

And it had happened.

He had been (not sulking, never sulking, he did NOT sulk) walking through the unusually large forest when he heard… voices.

New voices. New voices meant new-

_ New people! _

And that faint glimmer of hope returned, the one he had thought was snuffed out. The one he thought he had rid himself of, a long time ago. He pressed it down again. They wouldn’t be there. He just knew it.

He moved silently towards them (that training had helped), listening all the while. “You- okay, we can hide from him here, I think.”

Another voice. “Yeahhh, I think this is one of the AUs left untouched.”

“...I don’t… I don’t like this,” someone murmured, and Sans started.

That was  _ his _ voice.

That-

He moved onwards faster, trying to peer at the fake. And then paused. They  _ all  _ were skeletons.

He had never seen another skeleton besides himself and Papy before… it was strange. One of them wore an annoyingly bright and yellow outfit. What was he, Mr. Sunshine..? Whatever. Sans didn’t care. The other one had a scarf that was stupidly long and impractical, but he hardly paid attention to those two.

The third person was the one he was most curious about, after all.

The bootleg version of himself. He had… very similar clothing to his own. It was disconcerting. Perhaps he needed an outfit change… 

And then before he could think on that any further, they began to speak again. “Anyways, we should…”

“...wait. Dream.”

Sans blinked, glancing at his wrist. Funny, sunshine boy had a name which was quite literally the polar opposite of his soulmate’s… it made him uncomfortable. He immediately found he had a distaste for Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows.

“Yes?” ‘Dream’ replied, turning to bootleg him.

“This is an Underswap variant.”

Dream cursed. “Shit- you’re right. Ink, we can’t stay here after all.”

Ink groaned. “Do we  _ have _ to go?”

“Yes, we can’t risk- come on.”

“Ugh, fineeeeeeee.”

And then they just… portaled away. They… were gone?

And there was no evidence they were even there. Sans briefly wondered if he was going insane before shaking his head. Nobody could make that up. That was  _ real. _

He just had to figure out what ‘that’ was.

He had been mulling over the strange disturbance for days.

He knew about multiverse theory.

He wasn’t stupid.

He could put two and two together.

So… 

The gears were turning. Someone just had to help him along.

Sans was walking in the forest. Again.

He just… ugh.

His emotions were a mess.

And maybe that’s why someone decided to take an interest in him that day.

Sans sat down on some random rock, chin resting on his hand, brow furrowed. He…

He felt something shift.

Something off.

He tensed.

It wasn’t…

It didn’t fit here.

But… 

He had no time to mull over that right now.

And then he felt something cool, something that felt like it should be wet or have some sort of stickiness to it, brush his cheekbone. He looked up with a jolt, summoning a bone in his right hand. “Who are you?” He half asked, half hissed. “What do you want?”

And a voice replied (and so what if it was the smoothest, most charming voice he had ever heard? That was irrelevant), “Just to talk.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I think I did, little Swap.”

Swap? He was Sans.

...wait.

Swap.

Underswap.

Under _ swap. _

_ Swap. _

That- this guy was calling him Swap. Because he was… from a place someone had dubbed ‘Underswap’?

He… didn’t like that. He didn’t enjoy that.

Whoever it was chuckled. “Ooh, you’re more negative than the others. I think I like you~”

He shivered. “...what do you mean by that?” He muttered.

“Do you  _ really  _ want to know?”

Sans paused. He thought. He answered. “No.”

“Good choice.” The… tentacle…? He looked down at it, confused- it was, in fact, a tentacle. It stroked his cheekbone… comfortingly…? He wasn’t completely sure. “You have questions.” He wasn’t asking.

“Yes.”

“Do you want answers?”

“...yes.”

“Then come with me,” the strange presence whispered, and he could tell they were smirking- or smiling, they were the same to him. “Though don’t blame me if you don’t like what you find.”

Sans stood.

He turned. 

He looked up and into the single, bright green eye of the being before him.

He looked down at the hand being extended towards him.

He thought.

He thought about himself- how desperately he had once wanted a soulmate, how painful it was when he realized they never existed, how he had slowly grown cold and numb to the idea of having an other, how his eyes never reflected the hurt that was inside them, even after all this time. He thought about everyone else here- the way they had never noticed him, after a while- how he slipped through the cracks of society, near-unnoticeable, discarding his dreams of being in the Royal Guard properly to be the best(he couldn’t join anyways- his HP was too low) sentry he could be.

He thought about how nobody noticed him.

He thought about how nobody had cared.

And so he looked at the hand.

And he reached out his left hand, keeping the bone summoned in his right.

And he shook it.

  
  


Nightmare grinned. This one. This one would do rather nicely.

He pulled the Sans towards him with his tendrils, so that they were pressed against each other, the Sans’s teeth nearly touching his sternum. “Hold on tight~” he murmured, before dissipating into shadows and vanishing into the spaces, the small gaps between the AUs-

And then they arrived. Sans had been holding onto him, his disgust for the method of transport palpable. “Did you  _ have _ to do it like that?” he muttered, and Nightmare grinned.

No. “Yes.” The extra negativity was a treat he felt he had earned for being so kind to this pathetically  _ miserable _ Sans. “Would you like your answers or not?”

Sans took a breath. “Why did I come all this way?” He shot back dryly.

Nightmare’s grin stretched wider. “Good question.

“There are multiple AUs- or Alternate Universes, whi-”

“I figured that out,” Sans cut in, deadpan. “Anyone could have done that easily.”

Nightmare blinked, surprised. “Oh.” He recovered quickly, however, leaving not even a hint of the way he’d stumbled. “How much do you  _ think  _ you’ve figured out?”

“Who were those people?” He didn’t even bother to answer that question- that was really all he knew. “In the forest. The bootleg version of myself, and some guy named Dream,” his hand brushed the toxic green writing for a moment (and he noted that this person’s eye was the same shade as it was, but that couldn’t mean anything, right?), “And this other guy named Ink. All skeletons.”

“You’re more observant than you let on,” the goop-covered skeleton murmured, somewhat approvingly, and for some reason, that sent a shock of… excitement? through Sans. “But. There is one more thing. You need a new name.”

Sans started. “Why?”

“Why not?”   
“I quite like my name, thank you very much.”

Nightmare shrugged, a plan already formed. “Hold on, then.”

Sans blinked. And then they dissipated into shadows again. 

“Sans, get back to your station  _ right now,” _ someone (was that Paps?) seethed. A familiar and yet completely different voice replied, “Sorry, boss.”

“Sans-”

“Hey, how are you, Sa-”

“-s, cou-”

“S-”

Sans- one of the many in the vast multiverse- shuddered. He should have known. He would have spoken, but his head swam too much for him to be able to formulate a proper sentence. And then they were back again.

“Now do you see why?”

Sans nodded wordlessly.

“...do you need any suggestions?”

“The other- the other Swap,” he managed to get out, still in shock. “What- what does he go by?”

“He calls himself Blue,” the black-boned skeleton replied.

Sans thought for a bit. He looked at his bandanna. And he made a choice. “...call me Lapis.”

“Lapis it is, then.”

Lapis shrugged. “I mean, now that that’s settled… I don’t think you ever really told me your name.”

The other, taller skeleton scoffed. “I’m the demon that comes in the night- murderer of innocents, stealer of souls, vanquisher of universes, bringer of despair, crusher of hopes. I wrench soulmates apart, torture them, feed on their pained screams on a daily basis. What else is there for you to know?

“But you’ve been so compliant that I think you deserve a reward.

“My name..." He paused for dramatic effect. "Is Nightmare.”

Lapis’s eyelights flickered out for a moment. He cast a glance down at his wrist. No.

_ This  _ asshole was his soulmate?!

...what more did he expect, really?

Nightmare noticed the thread of white-hot shock that went through the other.

He wondered what it could be.

~~ He wondered why it hurt a little bit to feel that fear. ~~


	2. Triangles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...we may have a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Type this in one day? Pssh, you're kidding.  
> I typed it in less than one.

Lapis hated Nightmare with every bit of his soul.

Every.

Single.

Little.

Bit.

He despised him.

And yet… there was  _ something. _ Something that drew him back each time he wanted to leave. Each time he had tried.

Each time he found himself drifting closer.

And each time he yanked himself away.

He.

Didn’t.

Have.

A.

Soulmate.

And that? That was something he had come to terms with.

So why? Why did it hurt? Why were his eyelights always drawn to Nightmare?

He knew the answer- it had just been addressed, after all.

It was just that it was one he hated.

Moving off of that topic, he hadn’t gone back to his AU in days.

Weeks.

Months.

He found he didn’t care. Why should he? Nobody there ever had.

Lapis couldn’t find it within himself to spare even the smallest bit of emotion for them (Lie.). They were in his past now. No matter how much he wanted to go back sometimes.

And the future was ahead of him now.

...and his thoughts were, unsurprisingly, brought back to Nightmare. He ignored the way his SOUL thudded in his chest at the mere  _ thought  _ of him. He was in denial, sure. But it did him no harm.

He wasn’t sure about all of this, anyways.

Sure, he’d been living here for… what? The better part of a year? And he had found himself a new outfit as well- a black bandanna (He had hated his old one, the way it reminded him of ‘home’, but he’d felt horrendously exposed without one, so he just changed the colour up a bit), a jacket (the sleeves of which conveniently hid Nightmare’s name), a white shirt, some gloves, some jeans, and boots.

He was the edgiest swap Sans alive (The Fellswap AUs did not count. They didn’t matter). And he was  _ living  _ for it.

Lapis was also anxiously awaiting a mission.

Stars… a  _ real _ mission. He’d been training, getting stronger, faster, smarter,  _ better. _ He loved living here with all of his soul- the way danger seemed to loom around each and every corner, the deadly way the shadows whispered to him… He loved it all. He loved the way the entire place practically  _ stank _ of the rank stench of evil.

Because if there was anything he wasn’t, it was good.

He had secretly delighted in the unlawful side of things (he would’ve been arrested by the Royal Guard if he hadn’t joined- he was quite a troublemaker). To him, this was a dream come true.

Hah. A  _ dream _ .

That was funny.

He thought his (not) soulmate’s name was Nightmare.

Nightmare was not unobservant.

In fact, he was quite the opposite.

He noticed.

He noticed  _ everything  _ about  _ everyone _ .

He noticed the way Lapis’s emotions became muddled and confused the second he entered the room.

He noticed the side glances full of disdain shot at him from across the room that stung, for some reason.

He noticed, alright.

And he had come to the conclusion that Lapis either hated him or completely and utterly  _ loathed him _ . Which was… probably his fault, really. Whoops. 

Not that he actually  _ cared  _ or anything. That would be absurd. Lapis was just another… disposable pawn.

...albeit, a very  _ interesting _ pawn.

Lapis rubbed  _ the _ mark. The writing.

It itched. Or, more specifically, it burned.

And then he bumped into someone. “Hey, watch i-” he snapped, before pausing. 

Nightmare.

Of course.

“Sorry,” he muttered, glancing down at the cold stone floor. Nightmare didn’t reply. Lapis paused. Something was wrong.

And then he was rather suddenly being pressed against a wall. He grunted, squirming, as a tentacle gently curved around his neck, its tip resting on his cheekbone. He would have asked what Nightmare wanted.

But he knew better than to do that. He wasn’t dumb.

“...you’re quiet today,” Nightmare observed, before smirking. “Good. Now,” Lapis shuddered as he leaned closer, enough so that their nasal cavities were mere inches away from touching. “I’ve been thinking.

“You have a soulmate, yes?”

Lapis scowled. Not anymore. “No,” he spat, emotions a roiling mess. “I don’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“If I do have one, they’re dead to me. Which is weird, considering they don’t exist,” Lapis deadpanned, ignoring the pang of hurt at the lie ringing clear through his soul.

Nightmare paused. He could’ve sworn. . .

No matter. He could think upon that later. He let Lapis go and the other dropped to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.

Lapis was minding his own business, walking through one of the AUs. He stuck to the Snowdin of it, because he wasn’t in the mood to get drenched in Waterfall and he despised Hotland more than he did the forest. So that’s where he was. He wandered into the center of the town. And then Dream happened to stumble upon him.

He paused. Dream didn’t know about him and the fact that he was in Nightmare’s gang.

He could use that.

No.   
That wasn’t quite right.

He could use  _ Dream. _

He just had to watch and wait.

Listen.

He made sure Dream noticed him.

After that…?

It was really only a matter of time.

Eventually, Dream walked up to him, offering him a smile that made his blood boil. Stars, he hated this guy. So bubbly. So… disgustingly happy.

Nightmare was rubbing off on him, wasn’t he? Anyways… his feelings didn’t matter. Getting Dream to trust him did. 

“Hi,” Dream said. “I’ve never seen you around before.”

“Me neither,” Lapis lied through his teeth. “Who are you?”

“Dream,” Said skeleton extended a hand and Lapis took it. “Lapis,” he replied, and Dream nodded.

“Are… are you, by any chance, an outcode?”

Lapis thought about his reply before he nodded slowly, cautiously. He supposed he was one now. “Yeah. And what of it?”

“What happened to your universe?” The question was so innocent, and yet… 

…it hurt. And Lapis didn’t have the truth, but he could lie. “Destroyed.” After all, for all he knew, it could’ve been destroyed a long, long time ago. For some strange reason, that hurt just a little. He ignored it. He didn’t care for the world that had hardly cared for him.

_ He giggled as he ran his phalanges across his writing. Nightmare. _

_ It was a nice name. But who would name someone that? He had to wonder. Names were hard, though, so perhaps he could understand the sentiment one day… _

_ He just had to meet his soulmate first. _

_ The Underground wasn’t that big. It… couldn’t really be  _ _ hard _ _ , could it? He- he’d find them, right? Papyrus always said he would. Sans had to believe that. _

_ On the outside, at least. _

_ On the inside, he was hurt. But that never slowed him down. _

_ Even though, on the inside, he had already given up hope of what he couldn’t have. _

Dream’s persona faltered a moment, and Lapis was surprised to see a glint of sadness in his bright golden yellow eyelights. “Oh,” he murmured, before hanging his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Lapis muttered, before trying to walk away- but Dream had suddenly grabbed his arm. He stiffened, turning back to sunshine boy, trying to hide a scowl. “What?” he hissed. Dream blinked, having just realized what he had done. “Sorry, I just- I just thought that you’d maybe like to come with me? To… you know, make up for the fact that I failed to save you and all…”

Lapis paused.

Dream didn’t know that he was on the asshole octopus’s side in this battle.

He repressed a grin.

He could  _ spy _ on them.

_ He could  _ _ spy _ _ on them. _

_ He could spy on the Stars! _

He wouldn’t be totally worthless for once, which was… that was something, alright.

He turned back around, a fake and sunny smile plastered across his face. “Sure,” he said. “Why not.”

Nightmare was thinking.

About work! Obviously. Not about any skeletons. At all. Skeletons that may or may not have hated him. And were from Underswap. Oh, no, he had  _ no opinion!  _ On them! Whatsoever.

He groaned. He couldn't focus today, could he…? No matter. That could be addressed in due time.

He had to deal with Lapis.

Sure, the kid hated him and- but- he wasn’t… for some reason, he didn’t find that enjoyable. He didn’t seem to derive enjoyment from any of Lapis’s negative emotions, really. It was annoying. There was an energy source  _ right there! _ He just had to suck it up! And anyways- the only explanation for that would be that they were soulmates, and both he and Lapis didn’t have one of those.

Well. He wasn’t so sure on Lapis’s part. Perhaps his soulmate had hurt him in the past…?

The thought made him want to find them.

To tear them apart.

To make them  _ suffer _ for what they did t-

...oh stars.

He did not feel that way.

He refused to.

He’d only get hurt in the end, after all.

Dream couldn’t pin it down exactly, but something was… off about Lapis.

…and the guardian wanted to know more about him.

But…

He could feel it.

The obvious disdain for soulmates.

It wasn’t well-hidden, after all.

Had Lapis been hurt by someone?

He wanted to find them.

He’d…

...he wanted to find them.

What he did next? Well, that's really none of your business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dream, stay away from my ship, for your sake.


	3. Not-So-Mutual Pining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis likes Dream, though he can be annoying...  
> Dream likes Lapis more than Lapis likes him. Much more, in fact.  
> Nightmare likes Lapis even more than he ever thought he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm getting attached to lapis and i'm not supposed to be-

Lapis hissed as he felt the writing sting again. It kept doing it- that- that  _ stupid _ little sting of its. And it wouldn’t stop. He didn’t want this at all. He had been fine without Nightmare his entire life! And that didn’t have to change. Besides, Nightmare hardly liked him anyways… 

He put a hand in his pocket, looking for his cell-

Oh.

Yeah.

His phone was broken.

He’d smashed it so that Dream couldn’t potentially look at his contacts (though he didn’t really seem the type, Ink might anyways, having no respect for  _ anyone’s _ privacy). That may have been an overreaction.

Ugh.

Nightmare would probably be livid when he found out.

...Good.

He walked back out in search of Dream.

Nightmare was not in a good mood. He had searched high and low for Lapis to no avail. Had he been kidnapped? He wasn’t answering his cell phone, either…

He just wanted to make sure the small skeleton was  _ safe, _ dammit…!

And then. It happened.

He had an epiphany.

He… had  _ feelings for Lapis. _

_ He wasn’t supposed to. _

But… surely it was fine, then, because Lapis didn’t-

He suddenly remembered that there was a chance Lapis had lied about his soulmate.

Nightmare groaned. What was he going to do now?

After a while of thinking and plotting and planning, he continued his search.

Though he had an idea, it was just a hunch.

Dream had been thinking. Lapis seemed angry about a lot of things.

So he was going to show Lapis some nicer things- some nicer AUs to… to cheer him up!

He took Lapis by the hand, ignoring the fact that he…  _ might _ have flushed a little while doing so, and dragged him off. Lapis grumbled, ‘discontent’ (Dream had noticed the way he crushed his positive emotions for the sake of his persona, which hurt a little bit, but he wouldn’t comment on that for now- his own persona, his own outward projection of himself, wasn’t really the most observant), but allowed himself to be pulled along.

He had come to a conclusion: Dream was  _ far _ more mellow and much nicer than Nightmare. He was pretty sure he actually liked this twin more than the other? He hadn’t had much time to make that choice right now though. Dream was  _ annoyingly _ bubbly, but… there was just something.

He always felt happier when he was around Dream.

He wasn’t quite sure he liked it.

It felt fake.

But- oh, whatever.

He was sure it wasn’t important.

Dream pulled him towards a Nice Cream stand, and he laughed awkwardly, surprised. “You… dragged me through 15-odd AUs just to get Nice Cream?”

Dream mock-bowed, to his surprise. He had never expected Dream to be one for sarcasm, but then again- here he was. With Dream. Getting Nice Cream. His face suddenly felt very hot. Shit, was Dream aware of what this looked like-

Dream stood up, and he was, again, surprised to see the hint of a smirk in his expression. “Well, yeah.” And then it was gone. “What are you waiting for? A wedding invitation?” Dream teased, which really only served to further his blush. Dream dragged him onwards and he gave up, letting himself follow.

Nightmare groaned. This AU was rather positive. Pesky. Peskily positive. Peeved, he continued to stalk through the AU (That was a rather nice example of alliteration right there), eyelight darting back and forth rather lazily. He could feel something (like a tugging on his soul. Wasn’t that what drew one to their soulmate…? He didn’t know, having never really felt it before) and he followed it.

And then he paused.

Dream.

All his senses went on full alert as he tensed, the edges of his tentacles sharpening into blade-like points. He ‘melted’, his form blurring as he pushed the edge between remaining (mostly) corporeal and the shadow-like form he took whilst teleporting. He took the beginning of a step backwards before he spotted someone else.

Lapis.

His soul begged for him to check if the other was okay.

But… he didn’t.

It hurt, really. He felt rather abandoned in that moment, and it- it hurt so incredibly much.

Though, Lapis…

His phalanges curled into fists as his jealousy reared its head.

Lapis was  _ his. _

And he was going to get what was his  _ back. _

Lapis blinked down at Dream, still feeling awkward, and yet strangely comfortable.

Sure, the two had only known each other for a short time, but Dream was a nice little respite from Nightmare and his… brazenness. Dream was holding his hand, which confused him. Did he  _ want _ them to be seen as- and he shuddered to think of the idea-  _ soulmates? _ It felt strange, but… not entirely terrible. Besides- if anyone asked, he could deny it. It wouldn’t be lying, after all.

This was a nice little  _ platonic _ outing.

Dream had realized something.

He thought… he may have a crush.

On Lapis.

Uh, oh-  _ oh. _ That’d- That’d be an issue.

But Lapis was so  _ handsome _ and he just-

He cleared his throat. “Lapis,” he mumbled rather shyly, “Can I ask you something a little…  _ personal?” _

Lapis flinched but tried to hide it, already knowing what was coming. “Yes?”

“...who’s your soulmate?”

Immediately, Lapis pulled away subconsciously. “I don’t have one.” He muttered curtly- sharply, and Dream frowned. “That’s a lie.”

“What? I wouldn’t lie to y- I wouldn’t lie about that.”

“...no, wait. It’s a lie… mostly. You’re not lying to me, you- you’re lying to  _ yourself,” _ Dream gasped, his eyelights darkening. “Who was it?”

“Who was what?” Lapis was genuinely confused now.

“Who hurt you?”

Lapis paused.

_ Who hurt you? _

Nobody had ever asked that of him before.

_ Who hurt you? _

“I… nobody, Dream,” he lied again. He didn’t want to tell.

Nightmare, from where he was hiding, frowned, the negative energy coming off of Lapis in droves unsettling. That wasn’t true, Dream was in fact correct (as much as he hated agreeing with him). Lapis  _ was _ in fact lying. But why?

Nightmare was thinking of a plan, going through scenarios in his mind.

He needed to get Lapis back, to protect him, to make sure that he wasn’t hurt like that  _ again _ . He had to find out who his soulmate was so that he could hurt them worse. He had to do so many things. Just for Lapis.

Dream shook his head. “Lapis. You’re… you’re not telling the truth.   
“Do you think I can’t feel it? Your pain? Someone’s hurt you. That much is clear. So stop  _ lying  _ to me,  _ please. _ It’s not going to help anyone, so just stop it. So many people are- so  _ many people care about you, _ so can we not just help? Are- are we not- do you not think we can? Because if we ca- if  _ I _ can’t, I’ll try. Just for you, Lapis.”

Lapis’s eyelights widened. “Dream,” he started, slowly. “Why are you asking me this?” It wasn’t a question. Or, well, the _intonation_ , rather, was not that of an inquiry. The sentence in and of itself was.

“...if your soulmate doesn’t love you, would you let me take their place?” Dream mumbled, quietly, hoping against hope that he’d get the answer he wanted.

Nightmare scowled.

Lapis blinked.

“Dream.”   
Said skeleton looked up at him, eyelights glimmering with hope. Lapis’s expression didn’t change at all as he spoke next, and one twin lit up with a bright euphoria while the other’s hope collapsed. “I can’t.”

Dream smiled at him, but it was visibly strained and fake. “I get it.”

Lapis sighed, a hint of a frown twitching the edges of his mouth. “No, you don’t.”

Dream looked at the floor intently for a few moments before shrugging. “...do you… wanna go back to base now?”

“Sure.”

Nightmare was plotting.

Planning.

He checked in on Lapis quite a bit- he’d been able to follow him and find the Stars’ current ‘base’, though he refused to let Lapis know he was there. He’d mostly just sat nearby Lapis and made sure nothing bad happened in the night- that nothing truly horrifying managed to get close to him.

He was, after all, the terror of terrors, and Lapis was his chosen one.

His tentacles curled, reaching towards the small Sans, longing to hold him. 

He resisted the urge to do so.

It was _far_ too risky- he could easily be caught here, after all, and _that_ would help no-one.

But soon… yes, soon, he’d rescue his little treasure.

He left without a single trace.

It had gotten very awkward around here- around base- after the rejection. Lapis had clearly overstayed his welcome. He suddenly wished his phone wasn’t broken so he could call Nightmare, or Killer, or Cross, or Horror, or  _ someone. _ He just wanted out.

He got his wish.

The bootleg version of him- er, sorry, Blue- dashed inside, exhausted. “Guys,” he panted, clearly nervous, “He’s- he’s attacking.”

“No,” Dream stood. “Okay, okay, we need- defenses.” Dream looked at Lapis. “Can you fight?”

Lapis resisted the urge to roll his eyelights. Of course he could, any competent person could. “Yes.”

“Would you like to help?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, so here’s what you need to know,” Dream stared. “We’re fighting Nightmare-” The name sent a thrill through him. “-and he’s… ruthless. Uncaring. Cold… but that’s not really important.” Dream continued to explain as Lapis proceeded to pay minimal attention to the obvious directions.

And then suddenly Dream stood. “It’s time,” he murmured, taking out his bow and preparing an arrow made of pure positive energy. Lapis hid a smirk- hid the twitching of his mouth that could give him away in an instant.

Indeed, it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm in a bit of a dilemma right now, so I'm just going to go ahead and ask- would you like to see more plot or more filler?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Love and LOVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A battle ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waaa, I'm sorry I haven't updated recently. I've been slow with my writing because I'm working on... what? 3 fics at once? So... hehe, there's your answer.

The plan was to go in, get Lapis, and get out. Simple. Easy! Really, it was so simple that Nightmare probably could have done it alone. Or so he said.

Killer and Cross kept shooting each other side glances as Nightmare paced around frantically. It was rather obvious he was smitten. He was making no real effort to hide it currently, anyways- his tentacles kept curving into the shape of hearts. Error was hiding a smirk, and Dust and Horror were… on leave. Because. Reasons. They hadn’t shown up.

Nightmare didn’t care.

He was too preoccupied to even really  _ notice _ .

He was thinking.

Plotting.

Planning.

A little too much, if you asked Error- he should just go in and-  _ sigh- _ ‘snatch his mans’ as the creators so…  _ nicely  _ put it.

_ “Listen, Lapis- he’s my baby boy and he needs hu-” _

_ “Shhh, we’re interrupting the plot.” _

_ “Oh. Sorry.” _

_ “But you’re right, he does need hugs. He’d probably cry though. Poor kid.” _

_ “RIP Lapis.” _

Error wanted the voices to shut up about their ‘ship’, as they put it (though with all the things they’d said, he was pretty sure that half of them wanted some kind of poly with Lapis, Dream, and Nightmare, even though  _ that _ was  _ never  _ going to happen) so kindly on multiple occasions.

Meanwhile, Cross was hyping himself up- this was a battle. A proper one. Not the kind where you just… slip in, and slip out (he was more used to stealth missions). This was hard, head-on  _ combat _ .

Killer was vibing, as you would do when incredibly bored and waiting for something to happen.

Dust and Horror were still not there.

They would probably get in trouble for that later.

“Okay, teleport out in 3, 2, 1-”

Bootleg Lapis and Lapis (He’d given up. He wasn’t calling the other Blue, that was stupid.) teleported out simeltaneously, Bootleg eyeing the forest with a hint of unease, and Lapis with repressed excitement- this was the first real battle he’d been in. And yet…

“Blue,” he whispered, glancing at the other. “Why aren’t you more concerned that they’ve found your base?”

Blue winked at him. “What, do you think we’re stupid? This isn’t the  _ real _ base, silly.”

Lapis was going to scream.

Of course it was.

He was an  _ idiot,  _ he should have known-

His eye twitched as he resumed scanning the woods with a hint of a scowl.

“Dream, you know what I want from you,” Nightmare’s voice echoed through the woods.

Dream stared cooly back. “I do.”

“We both know you’re not giving up.”

“We do.”

“Then let’s dance, Dreamboat~” Nightmare whisper-spoke, the tips of his tentacles sharpening into points.

Dream had already shot his first arrow.

And then everything that was still before burst into action.

Nightmare leapt forwards, surprisingly athletic, and went to stab Dream with a tentacle- Dream shot it, and Nightmare recoiled with a hiss.

Ink flung some paint at Error, who in turn shot strings in his direction as he maneuvered to avoid the paint.

Bootleg was fighting Killer, and Cross was slowly approaching Lapis, expression mildly conflicted.

Lapis was in the back, thinking.

He had to talk to Nightmare-  _ alone. _ So he had to fight Nightmare… alone.

He took a breath.

He ran up to the front (rather quickly, too- he’d always been quite fast, if said so himself), summoning a bone attack, and jumped up, trying to stab one of Nightmare’s tendrils. Nightmare hissed as it hit him, grabbing him with three  _ un- _ stabbed ones as Lapis teleported the two of them into the woods.

Deep into the woods.

He sighed, de-summoning the bone attack and poking one of the tentacles that constricted him. “Nightmare, I-”

“You  _ traitor,”  _ Nightmare seethed, pacing around, agitated. “You dirty, rotten little- you- you just-”

“Nightmare, let me-”

“-expect me to-”

“Nightmare, Just Let Me Exp-” Lapis’s voice rose in volume as he tried to get Nightmare’s attention.

“-crawling back like it’s-”

“NIGHTMARE, LET ME EXPLAIN.” He took a breath and shuddered. His voice sounded so much like Bootleg’s when he did that.. “I WASN’T BETRAYING You, I Was  _ spying, _ you dumbass.”

Nightmare rolled his single eyelight. “Sure you were.”

“I was,” Lapis grunted, wriggling around. “And I know that this  _ isn’t _ their actual base.”

Nightmare paused. “You’re lying,” he muttered, annoyed. “Tell me you’re lying.”

“I’m not the empath,” Lapis rolled his eyelights. “You tell me.”

Nightmare frowned. 

Lapis waited.

And slowly, the tendrils began to loosen, and that was as good an answer as any.

Lapis dropped to the floor, dusting himself off. “So. What’s been happening?”

“Well,” Nightmare hissed, before clearing his throat. “...mostly looking for y- for the Stars.”

Lapis didn’t notice the slip-up. Or maybe he did, but ignored it. “Yeah, I suppose that makes sense.”

“...what did you learn?”

Lapis sighed. “Not much. Unfortunately… Dream seems to have a little crush on me,” Lapis’s face flushed with the statement, “But it’s- it’s not- it doesn’t matter.”

Nightmare blinked, repressing the jealousy that rose from the statement. “So then why did you mention it?”

“...it could be an advantage?” Lapis was suddenly very, very nervous. Shit. He shouldn’t have. Now Nightmare was going to think that he-

He-

Hhhhnngh. He did not. No. He did  _ not _ feel- ugh! Whatever! He was just! Going to stop thinking now!

Nightmare arched a browbone and ignored the stinging feeling in his chest. “Are you sure?”

Lapis rolled his eyelights. “Yes, Dream’s… well,  _ Dream.” _

“And how does that affect you?”

“He’s annoying!” Lapis exclaimed, though his heart wasn’t really in the words.

Nightmare decided to move off of the topic of the dreamboat rather wisely. “So you mean to say that you learned absolutely  _ nothing useful _ at  _ all?” _

Lapis flinched.

…

...yeah.

He hadn’t…

Well, actually, there was one thing.

“Ink plays both sides.”

Nightmare blinked, before he frowned. “We already knew this, w-”

“And Dream’s relationship with him is strained-  _ extremely  _ strained, mind you- because of it. Because he doesn’t care what happens. Because it only matters if they’re- the AUs’ stories- are interesting.”

Nightmare thought for a moment.

And then he grinned. He had the hint of a plan forming already.   
“Thank you, Lapis~” he purred, and Lapis flushed fiercely, though he attempted to push it down. “That will do nicely. Now, shall we resume battle?”

“Nah, there’s really no need. I mean, what was even the point?”

Nightmare leaned close to Lapis. “Because it’s  _ fun.” _

Lapis grinned, ignoring the way his soul fluttered in his chest. “Then yes, let’s.”

Lapis dodged one of Nightmare’s tentacles as it attempted to curl around him, and then dodged another two quick jabs. He summoned a blaster, aimed it at Nightmare, and dropped to the ground, rolling away and to the side as it fired. Nightmare teleported out of the way, and Ink came up from behind the goopy guardian, splattering him with paint. Nightmare hissed as said paint solidified into chains, but Cross sliced them open, and Nightmare was free again.

Dream shot several arrows in Nightmare’s direction as Blue continued to battle Killer, leaving a wake of destruction behind them. Error flung his strings towards Lapis, capturing him. Nightmare noticed this, and a grin began to form on his face. “Dream, we’ve captured your little friend~” he crowed, and Dream blanched, eyelights shrinking. 

“Lapis!” he yelped. “Are- are you-”

Lapis made a show of discomfort, and Dream paled further. “I’m coming,” he mumbled to himself. “I’m gonna- yeah, I’m- I’m gonna save you.”

His bow transformed into a spear, and he pointed the tip at Nightmare. “Let Lapis go.”

Nightmare chuckled, walking over to Lapis, who glared at Nightmare. “I’m not the one you should be asking that question~” 

Error smirked, holding up his strings, which still encapsulated the swap Sans. “That person would be me.”

Dream turned so the spear’s end was aimed directly between Error’s eyesockets. “You have one minute,” he hissed.  _ “One minute.” _

Nightmare shrugged, giving a look to Error, who, still smirking, let the small Sans go. “On the contrary,” he replied, a smug grin on his face, “We don’t need that long.”

Dream relaxed considerably.

And then he tensed again when Nightmare encapsulated Lapis with his tentacles. “The answer is  _ no.” _

And then Nightmare portaled away, back to his castle, taking Lapis with him.

Dream blinked.

And blinked again.

He flipped his spear in his hands, agitated, before hurling it at Error, who dodged it, though just barely.

Dream stalked over to him, expression stony. “Error,” he whispered, voice cold and unwavering. “Where. The funk. Is.  _ Nightmare.” _

Error was no longer in the AU.

Dream scowled.

Stars- stars DAMMIT!

He-

Night-

Nightlight had gotten Lapis.

Good grief… they had to track down Nightmare now, as their primary mission, didn’t they?

That would be an annoying amount of work.

It would be tedious.

But… Dream believed he could do it.

They just needed a little help…

He took out his phone and started scrolling through the contacts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)  
> i think i figured something out.  
> hoohohohoo!!!
> 
> badass dream is fun to write owo

**Author's Note:**

> :)  
> If you enjoyed.... leave a comment?


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